Richmond eyes regional football Academy

The KGI-aligned Laguntas Program team and Vic Country representatives at Punt Road Oval last year

Richmond will build further on the connection the Korin Gamadji Institute (KGI) has created with regional Victorian Aboriginal communities, with the establishment of the Next Generation Academy Program.

Following today’s announcement by the AFL to launch the Next Generation AFL Club Academies, Richmond will focus its Academy engagement and talent identification to the Goulburn Murray, Bendigo, Sunraysia, and North Central areas of Victoria.

The Academy will introduce the game of Australian Rules to both boys and girls, aged 5-18 years, who are from Indigenous and multicultural backgrounds, and provide pathways for coaches, umpires, and administrators.

With a strong commitment already to support emerging Indigenous leaders through the KGI, Richmond CEO, Brendon Gale, said the Academy is a chance to strengthen its community connections.

“This is an innovative approach that will drive genuine commitment from clubs to support Aboriginal and multicultural pathways, and we are excited by the opportunity,” Gale said.

“As a Club, we’re keen to engage with local communities in our regions to ensure we are adding value to existing programs, as well as creating social outcomes that go beyond football, where possible.

“Richmond has developed important relationships with many key Aboriginal communities across regional Victoria through the work of the Korin Gamadji Institute, and we look forward to this Academy further complementing that, and providing meaningful outcomes for young Aboriginal people.”

The AFL are yet to finalise the details of the talent concessions for Clubs to draft players in their Academy’s region, but it is envisaged that the model will operate similar to the system in place for the Northern State Academies.